Overview
- The Hammer announced the appointment on Thursday that Michael Wellen and José Luis Blondet will co-curate the eighth Made in L.A., a biennial set to open in fall 2027.
- Wellen joined the Hammer as chief curator in April after serving at Tate Modern, and Blondet is senior curator at MOCA with a 13-year prior tenure at LACMA.
- The two curators have begun early research and plan to base selection on studio visits and the work artists are making now rather than preconceptions about Los Angeles.
- Hammer director Zoë Ryan endorsed the choice, citing both curators’ track records of close work with artists and frameworks that center artists’ ideas.
- Made in L.A. remains an influential barometer of the city’s art scene, so the curators’ local–international pairing could shape which artists gain wider attention and how LA’s art narratives are reframed before the 2027 opening.